Friday, August 17, 2007

Weekend Box Office #45

August used to be a dumping ground for movies, but now each week something interesting seems to be coming out.

SUPERBAD (2948 theaters). This is getting very good reviews -- it's currently at 90% on Rotten Tomatoes -- and hopefully it'll help usher in a new era of R-rated comedies about teens, to save us from the cookie-cutter movies we too often get. You have to love a world in which Jonah Hill and Michael Cera can topline what is likely to be the number one movie of the weekend. Prediction: $25.6 million for the weekend.

THE INVASION (2776 theaters). I'm not sure why we need another remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, or why Nicole Kidman is starring in this. The movie has a troubled past -- the Wachowski Brothers were reportedly brought in for extensive rewrites and reshoots -- and though the LA Times gave it a good review today, reviews have largely been negative. Figure it'll only do about $13.3 million for the weekend.

THE LAST LEGION (2002 theaters). Not screened for critics, and the commercials don't really establish what it's about, other than it has something to do with King Arthur. And Romans. It's hard to imagine anyone caring that much. $3.8 million.

Look for RUSH HOUR 3 to drop like a stone, but still do about $20 million for the weekend. Still, SUPERBAD should beat it; the prerelease buzz seems to be the kind of thing that studios dream of.

4 Comments:

Superbad looks awesome. I'm continuously thrilled to see the old Freaks and Geeks crowd (in this case, Apatow and Rogen) succeed in Hollywood. Nothing else really catches my interest. I still need to see Bourne, and Rescue Dawn though.

The Seattle Times raved about the teen actor who plays "McLovin" in "Superbad." Will see it tommorrow after doing some writing.

The Seattle Times said in "Invasion" the aliens body snatch by puking in the face of people. Sounds like a rip-off of "28 Days Later," and that the spores come from a space shuttle blowing up. My point: these aren't very good hooks for a sci-fi remake.

LOVE Collin Firth ("Bridget Jones Diary" and "Love Actually") may go see "The Last Legion" just because he's in it. (I'm such a follower)

The Invasion did just under $6 million, despite costing 4 times what Superbad did ($80 million to $20 million). After the non-success of Bewitched and The Stepford Wives, Nicole Kidman may want to reconsider doing any more fantasy/horror/genre stuff, because clearly her presence in them isn't drawing audiences.